# The most quintessentially moment of Americana **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536 "2023-07-04T05:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/41 "2023-07-06T02:54:56Z")
“You know what? I wasn’t aware that flyovers weren’t as close to the audience as I previously thought, and they don’t perform any dangerous acrobatics like they do at an air show. Sorry for the confusion.” Fixed that for you. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/42 "2023-07-06T02:55:19Z")
I’m a first chair trombonist and I love playing “Stars and Stripes Forever.” It’s got an awesome trombone part. Every Sousa song has an awesome trombone part. You get to play very low and very high, very fast and very slow, and most importantly very soft and very loud. The trombone parts in this song and “Sleigh Ride” really slap. (Nothing is better than “Volga Boatman” but this is an American thread!) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/43 "2023-07-06T02:57:15Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > there was always a DI in the back repeatedly yelling “Do not look up! Do not look up! Do not look up! Do not look up!” Towards the end of Charles III’s coronation, after the royal family came out on the balcony there was a limited flyover – helicopters-only due to the weather – and everybody looked up except Charles and Camilla. One of the commentators said, “It’s the price of wearing a crown.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/44 "2023-07-06T03:06:11Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > “You know what? I wasn’t aware that flyovers weren’t as close to the audience as I previously thought, and they don’t perform any dangerous acrobatics like they do at an air show. Sorry for the confusion.” > > Fixed that for you. It is amazing the type of absolute _crap_ even the simplist statement can trigger from people on the internet. You can tell whatever kind of worthless idiotic lies you wish about what you _want_ me to have said, given _what_ you have said, I don’t think I will lose much sleep over the lies. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/45 "2023-07-06T03:09:02Z")
I don’t know if it is Americana but the climax of “Thus Spake Zarathustra” has a similar spine chilling effect. My cousin played tympani in the Navy Band and the Naval Academy Band and he said playing that song was the best feeling ever.Those kettle drum guys don’t get to stand out too often. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/46 "2023-07-06T03:14:24Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So “Everybody loves it- cities and farms, coast to coast, mountains to prairies” as long as it is in Boston? Everybody should love “Stars & Stripes Forever”… as long as you’re not hearing it while in a circus audience. Then it means something has gone wrong. [Here’s a guitar version I think is pretty great](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f5WRrUJu-8). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/47 "2023-07-06T03:16:42Z")
And then as we all looked up to see the flyover the planes began to fall, crashing into the thread, setting it on fire. Oh! The humanity! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/48 "2023-07-06T03:17:56Z")
My college had a tradition where the piccolo part of _Stars and Stripes Forever_ gets played by the tuba section. When we toured area high schools and other colleges, we would have their directors conduct that piece. The look on their faces when they cued the piccolos but hear tubas playing the part was priceless; they were usually baffled at first, and would then break out in a big smile. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/49 "2023-07-06T03:23:21Z")
Moderating: > [@Munch](#): > > What sort of mistake do you think would happen here? They’re not flying 14 inches above the stadium or anything - they’re several thousand feet up. > [@Munch](#): > > So either you’ve never been to a sporting event where there’s been a flyover, or you’ve never been to an air show. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Absolutely 100% true to both, but your seeming claim that they couldn’t hit the stadium because they are over a thousand feet up when they fly over is nonsensical. It only requires that the plane starts falling _before_ it reaches the stadium. > [@Munch](#): > > Are you familiar with the term “margin of error”? There are orders of magnitudes of differences between these two scenarios that it’s simply absurd to compare them beyond “they both involve airplanes”. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m not wasting any more time on a tangent that disputes that fucking obvious basic fact. > [@Munch](#): > > Fixed that for you. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > You can tell whatever kind of worthless idiotic lies you wish about what you _want_ me to have said, given _what_ you have said, I don’t think I will lose much sleep over the lies. Both, dial back the snark. You’ve made this entirely too personal. @Munch, you were also engaging in baiting. Knock it off. @Darren_Garrison, don’t call other posters liars. You know this is against board rules. No warnings issued. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/50 "2023-07-06T06:41:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Born in the USA I’m fairly sure Mr. Springsteen meant “Born in the USA” as a satire on the mindless killing of Vietnamese people during your pointless war there. That, for me, works as real patriotism, but I doubt much of the US population would agree if they bothered to listen to more than just the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/51 "2023-07-06T06:52:17Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > I’m fairly sure Mr. Springsteen meant “Born in the USA” as a satire on the mindless killing of Vietnamese people during your pointless war there. It’s not a satire, it’s open criticism. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/52 "2023-07-06T07:10:47Z")
And it’s not really about Vietnam - it’s a protest song about young working-class Americans who were sent to a pointless war and then came home to unemployment and ultimately, prison. The lyrics are very clear. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/53 "2023-07-06T11:05:39Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > That, for me, works as real patriotism, but I doubt much of the US population would agree if they bothered to listen to more than just the chorus. They will agree no matter what the rest of the lyrics are because chanting YOU-ESS-AY. The power of mindless intonation overcomes all reason. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/54 "2023-07-06T12:00:18Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > For me, the most quintessential Americana moments are jet flyovers at sports stadiums Why is this quintessentially American? We do it all the time in the UK at major events. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/55 "2023-07-07T17:33:52Z")
What the hell was that? ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/56 "2023-07-07T17:38:02Z")
I love this! ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/57 "2023-07-07T18:04:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Absolutely agree, at least when looking at the music and not just the lyrics. The lyrics to The Stars and Stripes Forever are so often overlooked. It may surprise you to know they’re in German. (Can someone please translate ? I’m dying to know.) https://www.youtube.com/embed/lKeMcCVn_yg?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PL12545D61CDF7C138 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/58 "2023-07-07T18:18:29Z")
I thought everybody learned the lyrics in second grade: “Be kind to your web-footed friends/For a duck might be somebody’s moooootherrrr…” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536/59 "2023-07-07T20:42:46Z")
My favorite version of “Stars and Stripes Forever” was on a TV special called [I love Liberty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Liberty). Hal Linden had one set of lyrics, to the tune of the tubas. Michele Lee had another set of lyrics, to the tune of the piccolos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-quintessentially-moment-of-americana/986536.md?page=2)